The Last Continent: Discworld #22

How can you not like this book? I mean, really! It had me laughing so hard (and getting a great many strange looks from the public) I was nearly crying.
Next to Death (but only by a tiny amount) Rincewind is my favorite character. How could you not love this cowardly almost-but-never-quite-there hero?
And the almost-Aussie folks were just wonderful. Especially if you've actually heard some of the genuine Aussie expressions. FourEcks was a truly interesting place to visit.
And we can't forget the wizards. What's funnier than THAT group marooned on a prehistoric island? And when they meet the God ... I was laughing so hard I gave myself a coughing fit.
Plus, we have a walking suitcase, and the kangaroo...
My favorite Discworld book, without a doubt. May there be many, many more.
Go Rincewind go!

Some wizards could be so wild and eccentric that they result in sidesplitting phenomena especially when their creative architect is Terry Pratchett. Together with zany dialogues, the supposedly sages travel through time and bizarre worlds in search of their comrade. While they deal with their adventures, such as meeting an evolution god and whatnot, their missing colleague is having a rather intrepid exploit of his own, like running for his life most of the time. Talking animals and unconventional logic adorn the story from start to finish. The way Mr. Pratchett brings everything together in the end is amusing. As with Mr. Pratchett's other novels, this tale also follows the similar lengthy track of events. There are no numbered chapters per se but each part is gaily separated by a burning question. Although extensive, it is still an amazing ride of madcap fiction and the many mentions of food are invigorating.

Witty dialogue, clever story line, imaginative characters, this book has them all! I just love the way Terry Pratchett transplants pieces of our world into the Disc World, he makes it all so damn funny and thought provoking.
I was actually fotunate enough to attend a book reading by the author while he was visiting New Zealand to promote this book, so my copy contains an autographed dedication on the title page (oh, and for those that haven't had the fortune of meeting Mr Pratchett, he is every bit as delightful as his books!)
For all lovers of the Disc World, this book should enjoy a place on your bookshelf along with all the others in the series.

I am slowly working my way through all of Discworld. This one is among my least favorite. Part of the reason why is my antipathy in general for the wizards and Rincewind as Discworld characters. I generally find those characters tedious, although there are Discworld entries in which I find they occupy a constructive and funny role. The Last Continent has its moments, but not enough of them.

I thought it was wonderful to see Rincewind and Luggage in a new novel. Yes, some of material is a little dry, but a writer has to do that to keep the new readers informed so they don't feel so left out. I feel that he played Rincewind very throughly and completely in character, which can be hard to do after a series goes on for a while. It's hard to do when you're just writing one book.
Almost all of the plot devices were necessary and well played. Death did a couple of cameo spots and that made me happy (being a huge Discworld Death fan.)
Read it. Pratchett really knows how to put enjoyment back into reading.

[For context's sake, I have been reading the Discworld books in publication order. The Last Continent is #22.]

The Last Continent was good...but not as engaging as many Discworld books. The commentary on existing countries and cultures was fun, but not quite enough to make up for some weird plot and character devices, and some fairly contrived situations. Of course there were moments of brilliance and hilarity. It just wasn't as all-around solid as I would have liked.

After almost 20,000 books in the Discworld series, Terry Pratchett unaccountably continues his original, funny-bone writing style. Many authors "peter out" after the third or fourth novel - not Terry! Somehow he keeps churning out fresh ideas, fresh material, fresh humor - all while keeping the customer enamored with familiar characters and storylines. While some of the later books may seem daunting to new readers unfamiliar with our loveable Luggage or the invincible Rincewind, I for one will never give up my addiction to the Discworld so long as Terry keeps on with his terrific work.

I have to disagree with the previous reviewer, this novel is the best one so far... being Australian myself, i thought the knowledge he had about Australian jokes and other things Australian was brilliant... especially the references to Meat Pie Floaters and "Blokes". I've leant my copy of this book to many family members and friends, all agreeing that it is one of the funniest books he's ever read. It had me and several others discussing it and laughing about parts of it for weeks after we read it.
Thankyou Terry Pratchett, i'm looking forward to your next release.

This is one of those novels that is absolutely brilliant if you fully understand the culture and myths of Australia. Many of the earlier reviewers who have panned the novel for having a lack of plot obviously fail to understand the stories that make up the Australian concious. The construction of a nation based on its myths is well and truly a stroke of genious on Prachetts behalf, yet unless you do not hail from these parts then much of the plot may seem irrelevent to the reader. An excellent read with maybe too many in jokes for the rest of the world.

Pratchett books are divided into two categories: the pratchetts of old, with a side-splitting joke every page, or the new pratchetts, which are humorous but more drily so, laying more emphasis on plot.

The fans too are split according to their preference in each category. I like to think I am somewhere in the middle: I enjoy good plots, but I did love laughing along in a book where the story didn't matter and being often jerked along as haphhazardly as real life. Somehow, normal plots take away that delightful, unreal yet all too real treatment of heroes, plot, narrative devices and endings. Am I confusing you? I mean that there is a tradeoff between writing a good satisfying plot and making it a wild, hilariously unpredictable ride. For eg., Captain Carrot and Sam Vimes belong firmly in the 'conventional good hero who does things most people cannot do category'. It is the dry humor in those books that makes them a Pratchett.

Now to the review. The Last continent is written in the same style as the 'old pratchetts'. It has a commendable lack of heroes or villains, a wonderful lack of predictability - you never know when a god or storm will smite the wizards and hurl them into mysterious places in different times. Nor do you really admire their constant bickering but can't help rooting for them anyway.

This books reveals the inner secrets of the Unseen University elite politics. For those who like wizards and Rincewind, this book is worth the familiar, joke/atrocious pun/ subtle insight packed value of Old Pratchett. I thoroughly recommend it for that. For discworld newbies, this is as good a start as any. If you prefer humor tempered with a conventional story, you'd be better off with the Watch books (Guards, Men at arms, feet of clay, jingo, fifth elephant, thud).

It is impossible to convey in mere words the feelings that Mr Pratchett can invoke in the heart and mind of his readers. Suffice it to say, that if there was no terry pratchett, the world would be a very boring place to live in. What can I say to make other people buy his books, so that they can partake in the joy and pleasure that comes from reading his books? I can not recommend one of his books without urging you to read the other chapters in the discworld saga. To read one of his books is to for the first time in your life know what it to breathe really fresh air, and you can not go back to the stale air you used to breathe. The last continent, like all other discworld books, did not in any way disappoint me. It was a stark contrast to the watch, death or witches novels, but that is why I keep reading book after book. I have fallen in love with all the characters and the world they live in. I always want more. The last continent might not bring the sudden, loud, or the delayed laughter caused by reading the same passage over and over again ten times, that other books have brought, but when I read this book I experienced the kind of feeling that I can only find when spending time with a loved one, be it organic or inanimate. When I read the book I could really feel as if I were in Australia, and I have never even been there. I would like to give the book five stars, but there are better books. These books would also be pratchett's. The four stars does not mean that the book is lacking in anything, it just means that this book which is "merely" fantastic could not attain the divine position of the other stupendous, fabulous and utterly breath-taking books that he has written. This is a book which I would not have wanted to have left unread.

It probably is strange to see how some people only give the book 2 stars and find it a big disappointment, while others say it is his best one yet... Terry writes far more than 1 book-a-year which sometimes shows in his work. If you are a die-hard Discworld fan, you can't help noticing that Pratchett is getting less original all the time. But he has to repeat things, because non-Discworld fans have to be able to read the books as well. It is pretty weird to assume everone knows about a world standing on the back of a turtle; these things need to be explained over and over again. BUT in this book Mr. Pratchett doesn't write about most of his 'clichees', but about an entire new continent (XXXX for the fans) and still people (Discworld-fans!!) complain. A bit australianish as the cover says, but still very nice to read.
Still no worries eh?

The last continent is Terry Pratchett's 22nd discworld novel and a standout for me.

The novel features the wizards of Unseen University needing to find a cure for the Librarian's magical flu and somehow winding up being trapped with the God of Evolution. Whilst the Wizards are trapped in paradise (with all the bickering you'd expect), Rinsewind is on XXXX. Rinsewind once again just wants to be left alone and somehow instead ends up having to be the reluctant hero yet again.

The diaogue and jokes are fast paced and the book has Pratchett's usual flair.

As an Australian XXXX pokes fun at Australian culture and more than one read is needed to get all the jokes (I'm still finding something new to write about and it's been my favourite book for years).

A good read for anyone wanting a laugh.

How could people not think Rincewind is SO FUNNY? This is definately the funniest Discworld book, all the Rincewind ones are so funny, Terry Pratchett sould be arrested on the charge of making everyone's sides split. It's like a sequel to Interesting Times, when after the Wizards accidentally send him to Fourecks. Anyway, the Librarian is sick and Rincewind is the only person who knows his name so they can cure him. They end up on an island with a Creator who creates anything that seems convenient at the time. Rincewind is told by a talking kangaroo that he has to set things right in Fourecks, while the Wizards try to get to the continent. The Wizards have never been a funnier bunch of absent-minded old, fat men, especially the Senior Wrangler. Whenever Mrs. Whitlow appears, he's saying "Mwaaaaa..." There's refrences to drag queens, and the dangers of practically everything in Fourecks.
Okay, so it's a little like Australia. Okay, it's a lot like Australia, but who doesn't like Australian jokes?
Terry Pratchett's humor is just brilliant, and I have no idea how he came up with such a funny and absurd character like Rincewind.

I am a truely obsessive Pratchett fan and could hardly fail to enjoy anything he has written. However if I had to choose I would put this as one of my least favourive of his books. Possibly my lack of knowlege of Australian culture has made me miss out on some of the subtler satire. I found that the main plot with Rincewind dragged a little in places. There were some funny jokes but I felt that his quest, the actual plot I suppose, failed to interest me in the least and served more as a background for the gags. Some of his other books have managed to mix humour with a truely gripping story.
This book would probably have been rated lower if it wasn't for the antics of the wizards. It's not Pratchett's most mature or inteligent humour but it had me in stitches. It is almost worth reading this book just for their bickering. Oh and the origins of the duck-billed platypus are pure genius.
All together it is an enjoyable read in places but he has written better.

Being an avid fan of Terry Pratchett I bought this book confident that I was in for a good read. Pratchett's track record for producing quality fantasy fiction is second to none as his sales figures would suggest. You are often reminded that his fantasy world perhaps is not too far removed from our real world. Nevertheless, the Last Continent was disapointing. The plot of the book does not seem to develop so much as just plod along and suddenly ends in a way that leaves you a bit bemused. I felt either there was a really big joke in the book I had failed to see or that I had missed the point completely. The main thing missing from the book in my view was the can't-put-down factor that is usually to be found in Pratchett's work. The way the story moves sharply from one location to another almost every three quarters of a page doesn't help as you lose continuity very easily. I finished the book almost out of a sense of duty. If this had been my first Pratchett book it may well have been my last (or maybe I have been spoilt by Pratchett's excellent offerings up to now). I hope for better from Pratchett and hope this was just a blip.

I found this Discworld just as amusing as all the other early ones, but also annoying. Just like the notorious Simpsons episode set in Australia, this book confirms the lame old stereotype of Australians as beer-swigging bushies, shearers and hicks living in a big-ass dry desert. While it's true that some parts of the country are vaguely similar, it's very depressing how foreigners such as Pratchett lack the imagination to look further than that. With silly portrayals such as this on the market, it's no wonder that no-one takes my home country seriously. Pratchett, normally so wise and nonconformist, comes off as just another naive tourist with no real understanding of the country he's visiting. He does us a disservice by reinforcing the old G'day Mate cliches. The parts involving the God of Evolution were excellent, but the parts set on XXXX (a brand of beer in Queensland- how twee!) were just plain stupid.

I really like all of Terry Pratchett's Discworld (fantasy) books, including this one. You will best enjoy reading them in the order published, but they're good on their own. They have a unique, fey humor: I expect you will like all or none, so if they're new to you, get just one to begin with.

I love Terry Pratchett. The Colour of Magic holds a prize place on my shelf, with Good Omens and Equal Rites not far behind, but The Last Continent? It's in a box in the garage. In The Last Continent we once again meet the inept wizzard Rincewind and his many-legged Luggage. In this adventure they end up in a place that is the Discworld equivalent of Australia. And just to make sure you know what continent he means, Pratchett rams our (the reader's) faces in cliche` after cliche`. Some of the abused Australian cliche`s are amusing, even to me, an Australian, but enough is enough. Terry Pratchett is a good writer and it shows in the fact that I was able to finish this book. Had it been a less readable author, I would have stopped half-way through. Definately not Pratchett's finest hour and I hope he stops churning novels out in such a manner. He can only rely on his name for so long. And a name and a few good one liners are not enough to make a novel.

I may be American and my knowledge of Australia is limited to a few geography classes and reading National Geographic, but I thought The Last Continent was truly excellent. I was disappointed with Jingo, but, in TLC, Pratchett proves that he is still the master of comic fantasy. Also, the Australia portrayed here doesn't seem as intrusive to the fantasy setting as the China of Interesting Times.

I have not read everything that Pratchett has written, but of the 15 or so Discworld books that I have read, this is far and away my favourite. It had me laughing aloud, something that happens rarely. A very enjoyable, relaxing read - and I believe the humour will translate well to those unfortunates who aren't Australian as well as delighting those who see a lot of similarities to their own home in Fourecks.

As far as I'm concerned, panning Terry Pratchett is tantamount to blasphemy; I enjoy his writing and have recomended him to others. But "The Last Continent" was a tremendous disappointment. Rincewind stumbles his way to a plot resolution about five pages before the book concludes, and although this is usually the case his antics throughout the book had nothing to do with said resolution in this instance. The UU wizards are more one-dimensional than usual; with anywhere from six to eight of them involved in each scene it's difficult to identify with a particular one. A bright spot in the tale is the emergence of Ponder Stibbons as a legitimate character. His growth in the story is the only real development we see. "The Last Continent" is not the author's best effort; check out "Small Gods", "Reaper Man", and "Men at Arms" for true evidence of Pratchett's prowess.

Enjoyable, of course, but slightly sloppier at times than some of his other books. The two plots only come together at the very end (which is annoying), and in a very discreet manner, so as to prevent you from noticing. Still, I laughed harder at bits of this book than I have at any other Pratchett book, so it couldn't have been that bad

The most unfortunate thing about this book is that you should have read Pratchett's other novels to catch some jokes about Rincewind, the wizards and other characters. My intention was to introduce a friend to Terry Pratchett's hilarious writing and was not able to use this book for that reason. I would probably have to use some other book, may be "Moving Pictures".

Apart from that, this book is only moderately funny and Pratchett resorts to some cheap puns here and there, which I found disappointing. This is a novel that seems like Pratchett wrote at the insistence of the publishers, but did not really have the energy to.

I honestly couldn't believe how bad this book was. Rincewind ismy 2nd favorite Discworld character (Death), but this was nothim.
It started out good, with the usual Pratchett "I wish I woulda thoughta that" imagination. But I don't know, it seemed to me that after the first 50 pages or so ...he was the only one who thought this stuff was funny. I love the DW books with the wizards, too, but these were not them either. There are a few parts where Pratchett just goes on and on and on and on about something that stopped being funny 5 pages ago.
Worst of all, the plot is erratic. There are way too many things going on which aren't ever explained. That's not like Pratchett either.
A few good jokes (one particular I was in pain laughing so hard), but that's it. Sorry Terry, you missed badly with this one. END

"The Last Continent" was another non-stop laugh fest from Terry Pratchett. I especially loved the UU faculty on Mono Island, and the encounter with the "horrible lizard." Rincewind was pretty good too, especially when someone steals his hat and he curses them. Heh, heh, heh...

Pratchett's diskworld series is vastly entertaining, but the latest offering is running out of imagination. The plot is bizzare (OK all Pratchett plots are bizzare, but this one is close to random) The main character, Rincewind, doesn't really develop, just more of the same that we've seen before. It seems more like a series of somewhat related short stories (the part about the wizards on the island of the god that doesn't know about sex doesn't seem to have any relevance to the main plot at all)
Equal Rites was one of the funniest books I ever read, The Last Continent is set in the same mileau, but just isn't up to Pratchett's earlier standard.

I honestly couldn't believe how bad this book was. Rincewind ismy 2nd favorite Discworld character (Death), but this was nothim.
It started out good, with the usual Pratchett "I wish I woulda thoughta that" imagination. But I don't know, it seemed to me that after the first 50 pages or so ...he was the only one who thought this stuff was funny. I love the DW books with the wizards, too, but these were not them either. There are a few parts where Pratchett just goes on and on and on and on about something that stopped being funny 5 pages ago.
Worst of all, the plot is erratic. There are way too many things going on which aren't ever explained. That's not like Pratchett either.
A few good jokes (one particular I was in pain laughing so hard), but that's it. Sorry Terry, you missed badly with this one. END

"The Last Continent" was another non-stop laugh fest from Terry Pratchett. I especially loved the UU faculty on Mono Island, and the encounter with the "horrible lizard." Rincewind was pretty good too, especially when someone steals his hat and he curses them. Heh, heh, heh...

Pratchett's diskworld series is vastly entertaining, but the latest offering is running out of imagination. The plot is bizzare (OK all Pratchett plots are bizzare, but this one is close to random) The main character, Rincewind, doesn't really develop, just more of the same that we've seen before. It seems more like a series of somewhat related short stories (the part about the wizards on the island of the god that doesn't know about sex doesn't seem to have any relevance to the main plot at all)
Equal Rites was one of the funniest books I ever read, The Last Continent is set in the same mileau, but just isn't up to Pratchett's earlier standard.

I found this book in a small bookshop outside the supermarket (Woolworths?) in Katherine NT. We were restocking on our 2 month trip across and around Australia in Vanessa the VW kombi van. We had spent a happy 15 months in Melbourne and were going to 'see a bit' before returning to the real world in good old Blighty. After 'The tyrrany of distance' reliably described as an 'Aussie classic' this was a very welcome,if all too brief, positive blast of fresh air; truely reflecting some of the facets of the Australian psychi. I loved it, but then, as Max Boyce once said, I was there.

This was funny, but far from Pratchett's best. He tried to cram too many jokes into one book, and didn't give any of them enough play! I would have loved a whole book with the Mad Max parody ... not fifteen pages or so.

Like most other people said, this book really wasn't as funny or sharp as Pratchett's usual books are, but some of the scenes and jokes were the best ever. They made the whole book worth it. I won't spoil it, but there was a scene with Ponder and the creator god which was just excellent. It's true, the book as a whole isn't really coherent and it doesn't really flow, but there are some sporadic scenes of brilliance that made the book worth it.

This is the eleventh or twelvth Pratchett book I've read, and it is by far the worst. That's somewhat misleading, though, because it's the only bad Pratchett book I've read at all.

I'm not australian, but I did catch on to many of the australian references. The problem was that most of them weren't funny. Pratchett's humor has always lain with the insight and subtlety with which he makes his cultural references and satire tie into the situation at hand. However, in The Last Continent, there is no "situation at hand". The story rambles on and on, seemingly without point. People and things come and go without notice or reason, often simply to fit the motif of australian references. The story of the wizards and the story of Rincewind don't converge until the very last pages of the book, and the convergence is not even explained (how rincewind knows to find the cave and then to draw in it). The reason for Rincewind's problem is not explained at any stage (why the librarian changes shape, why the wizards' presence in the past is causing the present to shift at random, why it doesn't rain, etc).

The humor that does exist in the book is shallow in nearly every case. Often it's just inane bickering between the wizards, which elicits cheap laughs, but doesn't grab one's attention. The humor isn't structured at all, which is Pratchett's normal approach. In his other books, the humor develops around some reference. Here they are mostly just one liners. In The Last Continent, the only time this kind of humor develops is on the topic the wizards' sexual repression, which is entirely unrelated to the story's problem.

I strongly recommend other Pratchett books such as Jingo, Small Gods, or Reaper Man for a much more sophisticated example of fantasy satire.

I really liked this novel, but then that was probably because I bought a copy to read on the flight back from Sydney to the US. :) It's one of his better works, with plenty of inside jokes and fun references. Hard to follow the actual story at times, but still one of the funnier books in the ongoing saga of the DiscWorld.

I'm primarily a fan of the Watch (Guards! Guards! and Men at Arms) and I typically grow very tired of Rincewind. This volume was a hoot, though. The wizards of Unseen University are very well served by placing them outside their usual environment. The usual appearances by Death are satisfactory as well. Not quite as good as his previous work, but Pratchett is holding up very well besides.

As usual Terry Pratchett delivers the goods. The wizards never fail to raise a smile and who could find fault with a novel containing Rincewind. While it is not Pratchetts best, I would have to put Small Gods in that category, it is definately worth reading at least once.

I have read every one of the Diskworld novels in and out of order. The funniest so far is "The Last Continent." I laughed for hours thinking of how accurate the Australian characterization had been. I truly recommend this book and all others in the Diskworld series!

As usual Pratchett suceeds in lampooning his characters and subjects gently and sympathetically. He clearly has an affection for FourEcks, its inhabitants and beer if not its food! I particularly enjoyed the FourEcks place names.

I just finished reading all of the Rinsewind novels and this was the only one that I didn't like. It was full of obscure Australian jokes that only an Australian would understand. The plot was often warped in order to make one of these jokes, so if you don't "get" the joke, all you have is a warped plot. I found an "annotation" file on the internet that explained these jokes, but jokes are much less funny if you have to have them explained (the annotation file is on the l-space web - do a search on "l-space web").

This book can be safely skipped without missing any of the bigger picture that carries across novels.

I've rated this 2 stars, rather than 1, since it IS a Terry Pratchett novel after all, and even poor Terry Pratchett novels are better than the average.

Personally I have read every one of Terry Pratchett's books. Each and every one I would rate 5*'s (I would rate Men at Arms as the best, followed by Small Gods). During each and everyone of his books I have laughed (usually out loud) at least once every page. In this book however I did not laugh once, which was disappointing. His style was very flowing, and I read the book in one sitting, but it was dull. It would seem as if Pratchett went to Australia, and went to his local library and got every piece of information about Australia, and then wrote a book around the information, throwing in characters and events at random in order to portray a Discworld-esque scenario. There is no plot, there is no greater good, there is no objective... TERRY you don't have to write about something if it's not funny. Next time, if you write an unfunny book, throw it in the bin and tell your publishers your dog ate it, just don't publish it! This was a sorry disappointment. Buy any other of his books and laugh till your jaw hurts and read until you realise that the clock says AM instead of PM, just leave this one on the shelf. Go and find another of Terry's books and prop in up in front of this one when you see it in a shop...